An eight-hour flight to Germany doesn’t seem that long for Lindsay Druery, who spent the last five years making an 18-hour drive from Smithville to Thunder Bay.

The South Lincoln High School product has signed a one-year contract to play basketball in the Germany-2 Bundelisga with TSV Towers Speyer/Schifferstadt after completing a five-year career at Lakehead University.

Although moving to Germany will be hard, Druery said she isn’t really nervous — she’s excited.

“I made the move up to Thunder Bay when I was 18, so moving away from home for me was hard, but I’ve pretty much experienced that.”

TSV Towers showed interest in the 6-foot-1 centre after she scored more than 1,000 points and grabbed 828 rebounds in her career at Lakehead. In her final season, she finished top-10 in rebounds per game (9.1) and points per game (13.9), which helped her become a second-team all-star.

Although the ink on the contract is real, Druery insisted she never imagined a reality where her basketball talents could take her across Canada, let alone the world.

“I never even considered university basketball. It kind of happened as a fluke to be honest and then this is just beyond all expectations.”

Signing in Germany may have been unexpected, but Druery knows what the team expects to see from her game once she arrives.

“They’re looking to have a taller player in terms of rebounding and inside presence,” Druery said.

“When I play, I like to rebound the ball and push the ball up to the guards.”

This won’t be the first time TSV Towers has mined Lakehead for basketball talent.

Druery’s former Thunderwolves teammate Kathryn Verboom has played with TSV Towers for the past two seasons and was instrumental in getting Druery noticed. Verboom also helped Druery with her visa applications and got her in touch with some of her new teammates.

“She’s already given me so much information about what to expect when I get there in terms of basketball and culture,” Druery said. “It’s really nice to have that comfort in knowing someone is there to help you.”

Thunderwolves coach John Carter also lent a helping hand, maintaining contact with the team throughout the year and compiling a highlight video.

The help provided to her won’t just benefit her basketball career, either. Moving to Germany will provide Druery the chance to put her teaching degree to good use. She is getting the chance to coach club teams in the TSV Towers system as well as teaching at a local high school. She will be able to teach physical education, English and science as a substitute.

Druery does not return home from Thunder Bay until Aug. 18, then has less than two weeks to say goodbye to family and friends before flying to Germany on Aug. 28.